Real techniques-a-like brush set

Okay so I'm such a bargain hunter whenever I can be, and I've been after a new set of brushes for a while now ! I was looking at real techniques but couldn't justify the heavy price tag really ! 

My first port of call was eBay, where I came across this set of brushes by journsa ! You can get in gold, pink and blue (I opted for the pink ) a set of 5 full size brushes for £12.99 ! Bargain ! 

I only use 4 of the brushes. Contour, blush, blending and powder. I don't use the middle one !

I've been using these for a few months now and to be honest I can't say anything bad about them ! They do the job I bought them for and they look pretty and girly ! 

I would definitely recommend these for people who want budget real techniques brushes ! 

Have you tried these ? 

mel xx 

Boots witch hazel haul

So if you have been following my blog you will all know how I suffer from oily blemish prone skin. 

I decided to do some more research after trying literally everything for my skin and I came across boots' own brand of witch hazel products designed for oily blemish prone skin. The products contain tea tree and witch hazel which are two of the best products for blemishes! 

It was on offer too, and this is what I bought. 

Il start with the cleansing/toner lotion. 

On offer for £2.39 for 150ml I will only use this as a toner, I use other products to cleanse my face with.  The smell is quite strong, but that is just a mixture of the tea tree and witch hazel. I really like this toner as it makes my pores less visible and my blemishes have definitely been reduced ! I really like this product :) I don't think it would be good as a cleanser though, it would probably get some traces of make up off.

Next up is the shine control day moisturiser priced at £2.39 for 75ml.  This moisturiser is so light, it's a gel texture! It kind of reminds me of the texture of aloe Vera gel, it's a little watery. This is okay, it's not the best I've used and not the worst. You only need the smallest amount and it does absorb into the skin quickly. Does it keep me Matte? Hmmm not really. It does for an hour or so. I will probably continue to use this on days where I don't wear make up.

The last product I bought was this night treatment gel priced at £1.99 for 75ml ! Bargain. This is the same texture as the day moisturiser, I really like this product though, I use it before I put my origins moisturiser on ! (Check my reviews on that). Yet again you need the smallest amount ! I imagine this will last ages !! It claims to work intensively overnight, cares for your skin without blocking pores and fights bacteria. My skin in the morning feels lovely and smooth when I use this ! I will definitively repurchase ! 

I'm really happy with this line of skincare and will probably get a few more bits. My skin has not had any new blemishes since using this, and it's nice to use products that I know are actually treating my skin too :-)

Have any of you tried this range ? I'd love to know ! 

Mel x 

Liz Earle cleanse and polish limited edition

Okay, so when a fellow blogger gets an early bird email to preview this, I was a tad envious !! Luckily she was kind enough to send me the link and I received my beautiful bottle this morning !

The limited edition spin off of the award winning Liz Earle cleanse and polish is something that caught my eye a while back and I couldn't wait to try it. 

Basically it has grapefruit and patchouli in it to brighten the skin and to stimulate, as well as energising ! ( Something fab to wake me up) It says you can use it am and pm but I shall only be using it in the morning to brighten my skin and I will use my garnier one in the night time. 

It is exactly same formula as the original, just a few added extras ! 

Here it is blended ! I love how creamy it is !!!

Okay so first impressions - the smell is divine ! I adore the smell of grapefruit anyway, so it's really gorgeous and the patchouli is such a gorgeous floral scent! The cleanser itself did actually brighten my skin on first use, I was really impressed ! 

I would recommend this for all skin types ( mine is so oily and blemish prone, the creamy formula helps balance it !) I would definitely purchase again if it doesn't fly off the shelves ! (Which I think it will) 

You can grab yours on aug 29th for a limited time only! It is priced £19.75 for 150ml and you also get 2 muslin cloths included ! Great price for a deluxe sized cleanser !!

Have you tried this yet ?? 

(Check out my review on the original one too ) 

mel x 

Leighton Denny 9 piece nailcare cocktail collection

Hey guys ! So, it was a Leighton Denny special value on QVC the other week and obviously I had to place my order !!! It's no secret that I adore his polishes ! :-)

This is a 9 piece collection, containing 4 colours (full size!!)

 2 cocktail shades so you can create different looks on top of your existing nail laquer, 1 cuti lips (cuticle and lip balm) 1 remove and go polish remover  and a diamond VIP buffer! 

It came in a gorgeous Leighton Denny white box ! I was so excited to open it ! 

The 2 cocktail colours are (L-R) lookie likey and surf 

I love these cause you can play with them on all kinds of nail colours ! 

Here's the colours (L-R) clockwork orange, statement maker, anytime anyplace and curtain call ! 

I love all the colours ! I think I like statement maker the best though ! They are all perfect for autumn winter !! 

Here they are swatched (sorry they are in a different order ) 

 

Here they are with the pink topcoat 

And here they are with the white top coat 

So as you can see, loads of different effects :-) 

I love the remove and go polish remover too, so quick and easy to use !!! 

And the cuti lips is a great multifunctional product (tastes of mint too ! ) I love that it really nourishes my cuticles and lips as it has lots of vitamins and minerals in ! 

The diamond buffer is great to prep your nails too, it contains almost 10% diamond which smooths the nails to a great shine !!! :-) 

All in all this is a fab set !! Such a bargain considering full size nail laquers are £11 and you get 6 ! It's £37.50 on the QVC website !!! Bargain :) 

Check out my blog post on the Leighton Denny manicure case too !! 

What do you think to the colours ? 

mel xx 

 

My favourite perfumes !!

So one advantage of working in a department store is the discount on perfume. And I have collected some amazing ones over the years ! Here are my favourites I wanted to share with you all. 

I believe that wearing a fragrance takes you on a journey and can reflect your mood on the day depending which one you choose ! I love being a girly girl and having lots of perfume :-) 

Dolce and gabanna rose the one

Benefit gina

Naughty Alice

Marc Jacobs daisy

Ysl Parisienne 

Coco mademoiselle

Geurlain La petite robe noir 

Ysl Elle 

Body shop coconut must

Ysl belle d'opium  

I am lucky to have a variety of perfumes and I'm definitely a floral girl when it comes to them !!! :)

My favourite perfume of all time is YSL ELLE. I adore YSL fragrances :-) 

My summer fragrance is the body shop coconut mist or benefit gina because they are so light. And my winter fragrance is definitely belle d'opium because its a lovely heavy fragrance. 

What are your favourite fragrances ? 

Garnier pure active fruit energy daily energising gel scrub

So if you follow my blog you will have seen the post I did a few days ago on the gel cleanser in this range. I love the cleanser , it's ace ! But I wanted to add something else to my routine so I purchased the gel scrub to go with it. 

You can use it daily, but I don't like using scrubs daily as I feel it strips my skin of its natural oil (even though its mega oily ) !! I picked it up from SuperDrug on offer for £3.29.

I have used it 3 or 4 times now and I really like it. The scent is amazing ( grapefruit, pomegranate and vit C ) and its really gentle on my blemish probe skin ! When I team it up with the cleanser I really get a power cleanse and my skin feels silky smooth !! 

The main ingredients are there to boost your skin and to turn dull skin into gleaming skin ! I do feel like my skin is much brighter after use. It definitely feels more energised !

It also contains salicylic acid like the cleanser so I know it is treating my blemish skin as well as cleaning it ! 

The texture is more "gelly like" than the cleanser and the scrub beads are really small and gentle which I prefer ! 

Overall I really like this scrub and for £3.29 it's pretty cheap ! 

Have you tried this or the cleanser ?

Mel xx

Leighton Denny Ultimate Manicure Case

So, Today's post comes from within the little house for my precious nail care and Leighton's gorgeously amazing nail laquers. It is no secret that i am a Huge fan of Leighton Denny nail varnishes and i always try and catch the TSV on QVC when he is on. In my eyes, his nail varnishes have the most amazing staying power, and i find they don't chip at all ! I even converted my mum after she receieved a free mini bottle when we went to the QVC beauty bash back in January.

So, last week he had a TSV (which il post soon) but I had to treat myself to this bad boy ! I saw it back at Xmas and wish I had got it then but it sold out so quick ! But much to my relief it was back in stock, yay !!! 
 

It is the most beautiful nail varnish manicure case I have ever seen. It is black leather with his trade mark name on the top and on the zips. It has 2 compartments for storage. 

The top compartment has a removable storage tray so you can hold more, but it holds everything that I have perfectly without it rolling about ! 

The bottom container fits all of my hand creams, removers, tools etc and its nice they are finally all together ! Usually they are in about 4 different cases haha ! 

I paid £36.36 plus p+p for this case and it is worth every single penny ! You can get it on 2 easy pays of £18.18 on QVC at the moment too ! ( Bargain) Check it out on www.qvcuk.com !! 

What are your favourite Leighton Denny products ? 

xx 

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY <3 :-)

Hey Guys, as Promised, I said that I would do a giveaway when i reached 100 followers ! So, thank you all for following my little beauty blog !!
(UK ONLY SORRY GUYS)
My giveaway is a few of my favourite products that i wanted to share with you.

So, you can win a full size 'Sunrise'' foaming shower gel from Rituals. It is a 200ml size and will last you ages ! The scent is Sweet Orange and Ceder wood, its a lovely mixture of a citrus and earthy smell :-) and the next product i am giving away is a trial size version of the Clinique airbrush concealer in 'Neutral fair' !! This concealer is amazing for covering under eye circles ! I love it a lot.

I have decided to do my giveaway with Punchtab, so it is fair for everyone !


Good Luck everyone !!!! :-)

NAIL VARNISH BLOG SALE

Hey guys I have decided to have a massive blog sale on my lovely nail varnishes ! UK ONLY !!!

Most are either brand new or used once or twice ! I will accept PayPal only ! And postage will be 2nd class £2.60 :) 

Email me : melissastubbs24@gmail.com with your choices ! 1st come 1st served. And il send you my PayPal address

Okay OPI £4 bottle

From L - R

Pink, silver,turquoise shatter

You only live twice 

Bring on the bling 

Lucerne:tainly look marvellous 

Jade is the new black

On her majesty's secret service

Skull and glossbones

Rising star

Casino royale

From A to Z-urich

Sephora for OPI - I'm so sari and a colour that can't be tamed

Next is my illamasqua  £3 each 

From L to R 

Phalic (navy blue)

Elope

Obsess

Nails inc £4 bottle (£5 for leather effect)

From L - R

Fitzmaurice place

St James square

Henley regatta ( sheer juicy)

Basil street 

Hampton court palace gardens

Leathers - Pembroke square, old Compton street, shoreditch lane

Magnetics (no magnet included) - Big Ben, Houses of Parliament 

Last but not least rituals £3 each

From L - R

Sea green

Tender rose

Mystic moon

Sky line

Misty green

Smart cherry

Amber stone

Sweet saphire

So if anyone wants any just email me please with a list of which you want and il sort it out for you

Melissastubbs24gmail.com

Mel xx 

Garner pure active fruit energy cleanser

Hey lovelies :-) I've been on the hunt for a new cleanser for a while now. I bought this garner one as I love my origins ginzing moisturiser and this shows the same properties ! ( check out my review for the face cream :) ) 

So, I purchased this about 3 weeks ago from SuperDrug ! I paid like £3 something as it was on offer (such a bargain!!) I use it every morning and every night.

I like this cleanser as it is a gel wash, perfect for my blemish oily skin ! It claims to target imperfections and awaken skin and tighten pores ! I believe it does actually. My skin looks brighter when I use it and I feel that my blemishes are diminishing :-) yay !! It keeps the oil at bay too, I'm not having to touch up my make up as much. 

It has grapefruit, pomegranate and vitamin C to awaken the skin and to brighten. A lot of products now are containing vitamin c to brighten dull skin ! 

It has salicylic acid too which is great for getting rid of blemishes. 

I really like this cleanser at it smells so fruity, it gives such a zing to my skin and my imperfections and oil are reduced ! 

I will definitely continue to use this, and they do a face scrub in the same range will shall be my next purchase :) 

Have any of you tried this !? What did you think ? 

Benefit haul order 💙

Okay so it's no secret I'm a massive benefit fan, so I ordered some products last week and got a free make up bag ! (Beaut) anything for a freebie and I'm hooked ! 

It came so beautifully wrapped when I opened it ! It's practically like Xmas in August !! 

Far too excited at this point ! So, here is what I purchased !! I love all the quirky packaging, it's so girly ! 

I had heard so many amazing reviews about sunbeam so I had to get it ! It basically is like a golden highlighter for the face ! It comes in a nail varnish style bottle and you just swipe and blend it on your face 

I really like it, I use it everyday, it gives such a nice golden finish. 

The next product I bought was boi-ing ! I was looking for a new concealer that would cover my blemishes.  I have been using it for a few weeks now and it's a great concealer that gives great coverage. It's rich and creamy and I love that about it. I bought it in number 1 cause I'm pale and its a perfect colour for my skin tone ! You don't need to use a lot either. It's a bit to heavy for under my eyes ( I use their fake up for that). I would repurchase this again.

The last product I bought was boo boo zap. I needed a new spot treatment as my Clinique one has ran out now. This is a really light liquid ( like water) and you just dab it on your blemishes am and pm. I do really like this just for how light it is and I don't haw to wait for it to try like the Clinique one. My blemishes dry up quicker when using this, so I do quite like it. 

I also got some free samples too yay !! Always a bonus :-) 

What are your fave benefit products? I'd love to know !! 

MAC prep + prime BB compact SPF 30

Hey guys, today's post is about the MAC bb cream compact. I was really excited about this because I'm a sucker for BB creams. However you can't always assume they will always be 'blemish balms' , this one for instance is 'beauty balm' , I like blemish balms for my oily blemish prone skin, so I was quite unsure about this. 

It comes with a sponge and you apply the creamy formula with it ! 

This product did nothing for me, actually it made me oilier (if that was possible) the cream was far too sheer and didn't actually cover anything on my skin. It was horrible.

As far as colours go I always go for the lightest. I went for 'extra light' and it was far too orange for me ! I looked awful !  So I wouldn't recommend it for light skin tones. 

Here it is swatched.

As you can see it is really light coverage and slightly orange ! 

The only positive I have from it is that it had an spf30. Definitely think il stick to my Estée Lauder BB cream :)

Have any of you tried this ? What did you think ? Would love to know ! 

Maybelline baby lips

Okay so I wasn't going to buy these because I have heard some negative reviews, but they are only £2.99 each and 3 for 2 at SuperDrug so I thought I'd give them a bash. (I bought the new fit stick too but il review that another day ) 

There are 6 in total and I ended up buying the mint fresh one and the pink punch one. The packaging is so cute and girly, I do love them !

So, the mint one goes on clear and just refreshes your lips, I actually found it quite soothing and it didn't dry out my lips which some lipbalms do. I will keep using it, is lovely.

The next one I bought was the pink punch one, which smells gorgeous, really fruity ! Goes on a nice sheer pink colour. This again didn't dry my lips out and the felt moisturised for ages. 

I'm not sure if I would buy the others, but I really like these two.  There are other lipbalms out there that are better, but I love how cute and girly they are !

Which ones have you tried ? What did you think ? 

My favourite beauty books

Today's post comes from a few books where I get my passion for cosmetics from ! 

Lauren Conrad beauty 

Liz Earle skin secrets

Bobbi brown pretty powerful

Bobbi brown make up manual

Okay so they are all different in their own rights but so similar too ! I love reading cosmetics books, I could study them for hours ! 

My favourite is the Bobbi brown beauty manual, which I purchased on the day it came out (2009 I believe) and its still my favourite today ! It goes through what order to put products , why the work, what they do, what brushes to use ! What you should own ! It answers all beauty questions you should have! Every beauty junkie should own this book !!

The other Bobbi brown book is pretty powerful which I love cause it shows beauty stories to inspire confidence :) such a lovely book to read and to discover their top beauty secrets ! It's a pleasure to read really !

Liz Earle skin secrets is a must !! She is an absolute legend when it comes to natural skincare and it's nice to read about the plants and what they role they play in our everyday life. I love reading about her passion for skincare, it's remarkable really. 

Lauren Conrad beauty book is amazing really. She is a beauty and fashion icon in popular culture and it's nice to read a book from such a woman who is trendy. She tells us about how to wear certain products, current hair trends and nail trends ! A perfect read for all make up lovers ! 

All books were purchased from amazon uk

What are your favourite beauty books ? 

MUA lipstick review

Okay so my friend had the most beautiful lipstick on the other day and I needed it straight away ! She said it was a MUA one and it was £1 ! I went straight to my local SuperDrug and purchased it, last one left too ! 

Number 15, it's called juicy ! It is the most beautiful peachy pink colour I have ever seen and for £1 I was so happy ! 

Here it is swatched:

And here it is on me: 

The staying power is okay, not amazing but that doesn't bother me anyway cause I always reapply mine. I adore the colour for summer months and I think it brightens up my skin tone ! 

What are your favourite MUA products ? 

My Nails Inc collection :-)

My love for nail varnish is extraordinary really. Some may say a tad obsessive ! I have over 150 nail varnishes which is mental since we only have 20 nails !

Nails inc is one of my favourite nail brands out there. I adore the fact that it is  a fashion following brand and I love the effects that they have on your nails. I love how long lasting they are too ! QVC is definitely my fave place to get them as the collections they have on their are such good value for money.

Here's a break down.

Block colours 

Special effects 

Feathers

Leather effect

Magnetics

My love for nails inc is ever growing and I always get excited to see what comes out next ! 

Do you love nails inc ? What are your fave colours ?